What to Expect at a Hearing Aid Fitting

Your hearing aid fitting appointment is a vital part of your journey toward better hearing. The goal of this appointment is to ensure that your hearing aids are correctly programmed to match your individual hearing prescription, while also taking into account your lifestyle, communication needs, and personal goals. It also includes an important educational component—where you'll learn how to use, care for, and insert your hearing aids properly.

Let’s take a closer look at what typically happens during a hearing aid fitting.

Your Hearing Aid Prescription

Your hearing aid prescription is based on the results of your hearing test, which are displayed on a chart called an audiogram.

Hearing aids are programmed according to the specific type and severity of your hearing loss. The amount of amplification prescribed will depend on how much hearing you've lost and which frequencies are affected. The prescription may also vary depending on whether your hearing loss originates from the inner ear, middle ear, or both.

In short, your hearing aids are uniquely prescribed to suit your hearing. This means you can’t simply try someone else’s hearing aids to see if you like the sound—what works for one person will not be appropriate for another.

Modern hearing aids are digital and highly sophisticated. Your audiologist will use specialist software to create a customised prescription and program it into the devices. While most hearing aids can accommodate a wide range of hearing losses, certain models may be better suited for specific levels or types of hearing loss.

Measuring Hearing Aid Performance: Real-Ear Measurements

Real-ear measurement set-up.

Audiologist's software screen.

Once your hearing aids are in your ears, we need to confirm they’re providing the correct amount of sound according to your prescription. This is done using a procedure called real-ear measurement (REM)—a gold standard in hearing aid fittings.

REM ensures that the hearing aids are delivering the right sound levels inside your ear canal, rather than relying on assumptions based on average ear shapes or lab tests. This is one of the most accurate ways to verify hearing aid performance.

The procedure is simple and painless. A small, soft tube is placed gently into your ear canal to measure sound levels near the eardrum. You’ll sit facing a speaker that plays test sounds—typically the International Speech Test Signal, a blend of speech from various languages designed to represent natural listening environments.

During this test, your audiologist will see whether the hearing aids are meeting your prescribed targets and can make adjustments as needed to fine-tune the fit.

It's worth noting that not all audiologists carry out real-ear measurements. While there may be various reasons for this, at Finchley Hearing, we strongly believe REM is essential to achieving the best possible outcome from your hearing aids.

Fine-Tuning the Sound

Screenshot of one of the screens an audiologist can use in their software to improve the benefit you get from your hearing aids.

After REM is complete, your audiologist will assess how everything sounds during a conversation. If possible, bring a friend or family member whose voice you’re familiar with—this can help you evaluate how natural things sound.

It’s completely normal for hearing aids to sound a bit too loud, echoey, or tinny at first—often all at once! This just means the devices are doing their job, but your brain needs time to adjust to hearing these sounds again. If anything feels too uncomfortable, your audiologist can reduce the amplification slightly and help you ease into the settings.

For experienced hearing aid users, you may prefer a fuller, louder sound right away.

Your audiologist may also set up special listening programs for different environments. These can be accessed via a button on the hearing aid or through a smartphone app. Examples include a music program, a loop system mode, or a quiet conversation setting.

However, if this is your first time wearing hearing aids, we often recommend starting with the automatic settings. These usually provide excellent benefit on their own, and additional programs can always be added later if needed. Some smaller models may not support multiple programs due to space limitations.

Learning How to Use Your Hearing Aids

Once the sound is tailored to your needs, your audiologist will show you everything you need to know to confidently use your hearing aids. It’s a lot to take in—but don’t worry, you’ll receive a booklet with written instructions, and we’ll review anything you’re unsure about during follow-up appointments.

Topics typically covered include:

• How to tell the difference between the right and left hearing aid (they are different!)

• How to change or charge the batteries

• How to clean and maintain your hearing aids

• How to insert the devices correctly

• Key tips and advice—including what to expect, what to avoid, and how to maximise the benefits

Some Final Thoughts

While the structure of a hearing aid fitting appointment may vary slightly between clinics and audiologists, the ultimate goal is always the same: to ensure you leave feeling confident and well-supported.

It’s perfectly normal to feel a little overwhelmed at first. But with patience and consistent use, your hearing aids will soon become a seamless part of your daily life.

If you’d like to learn more about the kind of hearing care we offer at Finchley Hearing, please browse our website or get in touch with any questions. We’re a private, independent audiology practice in North London, committed to ethical, evidence-based hearing care—and we’d love to help you on your journey to better hearing.

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